Patriots' Tom Brady offers No. 12 jersey to Mohamed Sanu

Oct. 26 (UPI) -- Future Hall of Fame quarterback Tom Brady offered to change his number and give his No. 12 to new teammate Mohamed Sanu after the wide receiver joined the team in a trade from the Atlanta Falcons.

Sanu spoke about the gesture Friday. The eight-year veteran was traded to the team Tuesday in exchange for a second round draft pick.

"He DMed [direct messaged] me when I first got traded and said 'welcome' and everything like that, and how excited he was," Sanu told reporters. "He said if I wanted No. 12, I could get it. I said 'no, I'm good. You've got that, I'll change to No. 14.'"

Sanu said he never entertained getting the number in New England. He also said he didn't make any offers for the number, which he has worn since being taken in the third round of the 2012 NFL Draft.

"It's been a good week," Brady said. "It's been fun to get to know him. I've watched him for a long time, and always impressed by his abilities, his attitude. It's just been great to have him out there, so hopefully we'll get him up-to-speed as fast as possible."

Sanu, 30, had 313 yards and a touchdown on 33 catches in seven games this season for the Falcons. He had a career-high 838 yards on 66 catches in 16 starts last season for Atlanta.

"[Sanu is a] smart kid, picks things up well," Patriots coach Bill Belichick said. "We'll see what we can do here. Sometimes as it accumulates -- early downs, third down, red area, situational stuff. We'll see what the load looks like, but he's made good progress both days [of practice].

"Works hard. Good kid. Is really in-tune and trying very hard to pick up things quickly and get on the same page as everybody else. That's obviously a long way to go, a lot of work to do, but he's working hard at it, so we appreciate that."

The Patriots host the Cleveland Browns at 4:25 p.m. EDT Sunday at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass.